Material Detail

This video was recorded at CHEM 125b: Freshman Organic Chemistry II. After drill on the mechanism of the pinacol rearrangement, this lecture applies molecular-orbital analysis to simultaneous electrophilic/nucleophilic attack by a single atom to form a three-membered ring from an alkene. These reactions provide drill in consistent use of the curved-arrow formalism for describing electron-pair shifts. Two alternative mechanisms for formation of cyclopropanes by the alkylzinc Simmons-Smith "carbenoid" reagent are proposed, and the one-step mechanism is supported by theory. Epoxidation of alkenes by peroxycarboxylic acids also seems to go by way of a concerted electrophilic/nucleophilic process involving a single transition state. The stereochemistry and scale of various paths to epoxides is discussed in the context of their commercial utility.

Disciplines:

• Science and Technology  / Chemistry  / Organic